State Agency Approves of Uber’s Insurance in Court Filing

TAMPA — Uber is one step closer to operating here legally now that the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has filed a document saying the company’s insurance policies meet state requirements.

The validity of the rideshare company’s insurance has been a major sticking point since Uber started operating in Tampa in April 2014.

In 2014, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said the rideshare company’s policy provided legally binding coverage. But FOIR then deferred to the department of highway safety on whether the policy, when combined with a personal auto policy held by the driver, would provide the coverage necessary under the Florida Financial Responsibility Law.

Until now, the department has refused to say whether the rideshare company’s policy checks all the right boxes under Florida law. But a court filing this week in the 2nd judicial circuit court of Leon County appears to provide some clarity.

“Uber has produced two liability insurance policies which meet the insurance requirements of Florida law,” said the document, submitted by DHSMV attorneys Stephen Hurm, Damaris Reynolds and Nicholas Merlin.

The comment was made in a motion asking the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed in September by Tallahassee-based Capitol Transportation and Broward County’s B & L Services.